Bio586 Cell Biology of Disease Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Sp25

Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (uTAs) for Bio586 develop their teaching and leadership skills and deepen their understanding of cell/molecular biology and mechanisms of human health and disease by attending and assisting during class meetings, holding help sessions, leading review sessions, providing feedback on student work, and meeting weekly with me and other TAs.

UTAs will attend class (MW 2:30-3:45PM), hold office hours, review sessions, and provide feedback on problem sets and exam open-response questions. UTAs will earn course credit (3 credits of BIO 398A, graded P/F).  I will be selecting UTAs based on previous experience in this course.

Name of research group, project, or lab
Bio586 uTA (Francis)
Why participate in this opportunity?

The purpose of being an undergraduate teaching assistant (UTA) is twofold. On the one hand, your work supports student learning in Bio586. Additionally, you are developing skills and gaining transferable experiences that will help you when you are applying for fellowships, jobs, and professional/graduate school in the future. Even if you do not pursue a career that involves teaching college-level courses, you will likely be leading, facilitating, and even supervising others. Your experiences as a TA can provide you with the chance to develop your teaching and facilitation skills.

Logistics Information:
Subject Category
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Cellular Biology
Student ranks applicable
Junior
Senior
Student qualifications

Successful completion of Bio586. Availability during class meeting time (MW 2:30-3:45pm). You should be able to explain complex topics in ways that are engaging and understandable, be enthusiastic about working hard, and have good teamwork and communication skills.

  1. Apply for this position through the PROPEL site. See https://propel.umass.edu/
  2. In your PROPEL application materials indicate why you want to be an undergraduate TA for Bio586 and what strengths you believe you'll bring to our Bio586 team.
  3. For your application to be complete, you must also fill out this application form to provide additional information.
Time commitment
8-10 h/wk
Position Types and Compensation
Teaching - Ind. Study Credit
Number of openings
4
Techniques learned

Through this work, you will develop your abilities to explain complex biological concepts, provide thoughtful feedback, facilitate in-class learning, and answer questions about cell and molecular biology at a level appropriate for a 500-level Biology course.

Project start
Spring 2025
Contact Information:
Mentor
Laura Francis
lifranci@umass.edu
Faculty (instructor)
Name of project director or principal investigator
Laura Francis
Email address of project director or principal investigator
lifranci@umass.edu
4 sp. | 8 appl.
Hours
8-10 h/wk
Project categories
Cellular Biology (+1)
Biochemistry & Molecular BiologyCellular Biology